Acts 18:12-22 Lesson 263

Acts 18:12-22
Lesson 263

Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."

In this lesson:

The second missionary journey ends.

Gallio (18:12-18).

Back to Antioch.

Paul's First and Second missionary journeys.

Where was -

Achaia -
One of the two Roman provinces in Greece, the other being Macedonia. Achaia was located in the north-west Peloponnesus (southern half of modern-day Greece) with Corinth as its capital. Second Corinthians was written to the churches in Achaia here.

Cenchrea -
Cenchrea was a Mediterranean seaport located eight miles east of Corinth (in southern Greece).  After an eighteen-month evangelical visit to Corinth, Paul walked the eight miles to Cenchrea, then sailed to Syria to end his second missionary journey (Acts 18:18). Cenchrea had an active church (Romans 16:1), perhaps founded by Paul.

Ephesus -
An essential maritime city and vital political, educational, and business center.  Ephesus was the capital of the Roman province of Asia (part of modern-day Turkey) located on the Aegean Sea.  With a population of 250,000, Ephesus lay on the prosperous trade route from Rome to points east and was governed by a council of one hundred aristocrats.  Trade goods from all corners of the Roman Empire passed through Ephesus, making the city wealthy.  Wide well kept streets, large public buildings and lavish homes were everywhere.  The city was famous for its temple honoring the pagan goddess Artemis (one of the seven wonders of the ancient world), and its great theater. Ephesus was one of the five most important cities in the Roman empire.  Romans called Ephesus "the first and greatest metropolis of Asia."  Paul established the church in Ephesus (Acts 19:1-41) around AD 53 during his second missionary journey, and it became the center of Christian life after the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.   Christianity would have taken longer to spread without bustling trade centers like Ephesus. Thanks to Ephesus' central location, the Gospel made its way to all parts of the Roman empire. In Revelations 2:1-7, Jesus dictates a letter to John addressed to the Ephesus church. Paul wrote "The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians" while in prison in Rome (circa AD 60-62). It is believed that the apostle John died in Ephesus. Over the centuries, Ephesus gradually lost its harbor to the accumulation of silt and sediment. Today, the ruins of Ephesus are several miles from the sea. The Austrian Archaeological Institute discovered and excavated the remains of the Artemis temple in the early 20th century.

Study Tip:

Read both the Old and New Testaments.

"Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian."

Aiden Wilson Tozer (1897-1963).

The Acts of the Apostles

The King James Bible

Acts 18:12-22
Paul returns to Antioch of Syria

12 And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat,

13 Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law.

14 And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you:

15 But if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters.

16 And he drave them from the judgment seat.

17 Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things.

18 And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.

19 And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.

20 When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not;

21 But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.

22 And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up, and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch.

Margin notes:

"Gallio." (18:12) - Lucius Junius Gallio was the Roman governor of Achaia and the older brother of the renowned Stoic philosopher and Roman minister Lucius Annaeus Seneca.  Of Spanish descent, he was nicknamed "sweet Gallio" due to his fairness and popularity. Poor health limited his rule over Achaia (modern-day southern Greece) to just two years (AD 51-52).

"Made insurrection with one accord against Paul." (18:12) - Means, "rose up as one against Paul."

"Brought him to the judgment seat." (18:12) - "Brought him to court."

"Wicked lewdness." (18:14) - "Wicked crime."

"If it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters." (18:15) - Gallio won't litigate religious matters; the Jews must handle that themselves. This is similar to what Pontus Pilate said when the mob brought Jesus to him (John 18:31).

"He drave them from the judgment seat." (18:16) - "He (Gallio) drove them from the court."

"Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue." (18:17) - Sosthenes was the chief ruler of the Jewish synagogue in Corinth (Acts 18:17). He  became chief ruler after his predecessor (Crispus) converted to Christianity in Acts 18:8 (lesson 262). We read in this verse that he was beaten by Greeks.  Shortly after becoming chief ruler, Sosthenes also converted and was beaten again, this time by a Jewish mob. He transcribed I Corinthians for Paul (1 Corinthians 1:1).

"For he had a vow." (18:18) - This was a Nazarite vow to God.  To show gratitude and to separate themselves from others for the service of God (Numbers 6:2), Jewish men and women took periodic vows to consecrate themselves.  They would abstain from wine, grapes, alcohol, cutting their hair, and pledged to avoid contact with the dead, even a close relative (Numbers 6:2-8; 13:21; Judges 13:2-7).  The vows lasted from thirty to one hundred days. At the end of the vow, they would purify themselves by shaving their hair and throwing it into a fire (Numbers 6:18). The next day, they were required to make a sacrificial offering.  The required sacrifice was a male lamb, a female lamb, a ram, unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour with oil, and a meat and drink offering (Numbers 6:14-15).  Three men in the Bible were under lifetime Nazarite vows, Samson (Judges 13:4-5); Samuel (1 Samuel 1:11); and John the Baptist (Luke 1:15).

"Reasoned with the Jews." (18:19) - "Debated with the Jews."

"They desired him to tarry longer." (18:20) - They wanted him (Paul) to stay longer.

"I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem." (18:21) - These twelve words do not appear in all ancient transcripts. Knowing that Paul went to Jerusalem for the Jewish holiday (Acts 19:21; 20:16), some historians believe that copyists added to this verse for clarification.

"Saluted the church." (18:22) - "Greeted the church (in Jerusalem)."

New Living Translation

Acts 18:12-22

12 But when Gallio became governor of Achaia, some Jews rose up together against Paul and brought him before the governor for judgment.

13 They accused Paul of "persuading people to worship God in ways that are contrary to our law."

14 But just as Paul started to make his defense, Gallio turned to Paul's accusers and said, "Listen, you Jews, if this were a case involving some wrongdoing or a serious crime, I would have a reason to accept your case.

15 But since it is merely a question of words and names and your Jewish law, take care of it yourselves. I refuse to judge such matters."

16 And he threw them out of the courtroom.

17 The crowd then grabbed Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him right there in the courtroom. But Gallio paid no attention.

Paul Returns to Antioch of Syria

18 Paul stayed in Corinth for some time after that, then said good-bye to the brothers and sisters and went to nearby Cenchrea. There he shaved his head according to Jewish custom, marking the end of a vow. Then he set sail for Syria, taking Priscilla and Aquila with him.

19 They stopped first at the port of Ephesus, where Paul left the others behind. While he was there, he went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews.

20 They asked him to stay longer, but he declined.

21 As he left, however, he said, "I will come back later, God willing." Then he set sail from Ephesus.

22 The next stop was at the port of Caesarea. From there he went up and visited the church at Jerusalem and then went back to Antioch.

This second Bible text from the "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word for word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."

Today's Question:

1. Why was it important that Gallio dismissed the charges against Paul? (18:14-16)

Take your troubles to the Lord.
Tell Him your needs.
God wants you to turn your problems over to Him.

Answer: (Do you agree?)

1. Gallio's decision to dismiss the charges against Paul had positive implications for Christianity. Paul was accused of promoting a new and illegal religion not approved by Rome (18:13). This was tantamount to treason and put Paul in serious legal jeopardy. But Gallio saw that Christianity wasn't a new religion at all, but an offshoot of Judaism. Thus, this squabble between Paul and the priests was not a civil matter, but a simple question of semantics (18:15) between Jews. Had Gallio taken the case and decided against Paul, the legal precedent could have led to Christianity being outlawed. Declaring Christianity a part of Judaism meant it was a legal religion, and Paul was allowed to continue his work.

The Roman empire did eventually turn against Christianity, but that was decades later when the church was stronger.

Application thought for the day:

What does this segment teach us about the human heart?

Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series" published by NavPress books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; the "Quest Study Bible" published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies;" "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Everyday Bible" published by World Wide Publications, Minneapolis, Minnesota; "The Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House; "The New Testament" translated from the Latin Vulgate, published by Guild Press, New York, New York; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course the "King James Bible." All were critical in putting these lessons together.
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